Safety Engineer

Northrop Grumman UK; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Hybrid/Compressed fortnight

Private healthcare

Cash health plan

Holiday buy/sell

Performance-related bonus

Career development and mentoring

Job summary

Northrop Grumman UK is hiring a Principal Safety Engineer to lead safety assurance across design, development and maintenance of naval Platform Management Systems for surface ships and submarines.

You will drive Hazard and Operability Studies, FMEA/FMECA, FTA and LOPA, reporting to the Product Safety Manager and mentoring junior engineers in a multi-disciplinary team.

Qualifications

• Relevant work experience in a safety-related engineering environment.
• Experience in leading technical activities.
• Understanding of IEC 61508 and Def Stan 00-056.
• Experience in safety assurance of complex systems.

Responsibilities

• Derive safety activities and schedules to meet milestones and safety requirements.
• Lead safety activities to meet system safety targets across hardware, software and firmware.
• Lead safety audits at design reviews and safety committee meetings.
• Produce high-quality technical documentation.
• Lead analysis to inform design decisions and safety solutions.
• Present safety arguments to stakeholders to influence decisions.
• Collaborate in multi‑disciplinary teams to maximize impact of outputs.
• Stay updated on latest safety standards and best practices.
• Mentor junior staff as required.

Skills

Safety engineering

Technical leadership

Hazard analysis

FMECA/FTA/LOPA

Safety assurance

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Hazard and Operability Studies

Stakeholder influencing

Education

Master’s or degree in Engineering or Safety Management

HND or HNC in Engineering or Safety Management

Job description

UK CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION: Yes

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time

What’s your possible?

At Northrop Grumman UK, you are part of a team driving innovation where it matters most – solving tomorrow’s challenges and shaping the technology solutions of the future. It’s what we call Defining Possible.

This mindset goes beyond our customer solutions; it’s the foundation for your career development and the positive impact we have within the communities we serve.

The Opportunity

This is more than just a job; it’s a mission

As a Principal Safety Engineer, you’ll have the chance to lead safety assurance activities on the design, development, and maintenance of cutting-edge infrastructure for naval vessel Platform Management Systems – including both surface ships and submarines. You will play a critical role leading safety activities regarding the development of the product and the provision of support to mission‑critical naval operations. Reporting to the Product Safety Manager and as a linchpin in the Safety Engineering team.

Safety engineering activities include Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOPs), Functional Failure Analysis (FFA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA).

Our UK Defence business is a Sovereign software and systems centre of excellence. As well as developing and supporting UK wide and internationally deployed multi‑domain command and control systems, our work is critical to the modern backbone of the Royal Navy. We pioneer – with fierce curiosity, dedication, and innovation, we seek to solve the world’s most challenging problems.

What you will be doing

• Derive safety activities and work schedules required by the programme to deliver agreed project milestones and satisfy safety requirements.
• Leading safety activities to ensure that the customer’s safety targets, and derived safety targets can be met by the system design, considering relevant aspects of Hardware, Software and Firmware.
• Leading safety audits at internal and external design reviews and safety committee meetings.
• Ensuring technical documentation is produced to a high standard in accordance with company/customer procedures.
• Leading analysis that positively impacts the design decisions and solutions propose by the engineering teams.
• Presenting complex and well‑reasoned safety arguments to internal and external stakeholders in order to influence their consideration of safety decisions.
• Working collaboratively within multi-disciplined teams to maximise NGs reputation by generating high quality and well‑reasoned outputs
• Awareness of latest standards and best practices to drive improvement
• Provide input to the Monthly Staff Meeting, Team Briefings and SOFT report.
• Supervision and development of other employees as required. May be requested to act as a mentor to more junior employees.

What we are looking for

• Relevant work experience in a safety‑related engineering environment
• Experience in leading technical activities
• Understanding of international and defence standards such as IEC 61508 and Def Stan 00‑056
• Experience of safety assurance of COTS PE based systems and/or high integrity software
• Ability to understand hardware and software failure modes, causes and effects
• Experience in safety/reliability analysis techniques: hazard identification and analysis, FMECA, FTA, Functional Failure Analysis
• Experience of the tools and techniques used in Risk Assessments and developing ALARP justifications
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team (e.g. systems, hardware, software and ILS engineers, project management, customer and supplier engineering teams)
• Master’s degree, Degree, HND or HNC in Engineering or Safety Management related discipline

If you don’t meet every requirement but is motivated to develop a career in safety engineering, we still encourage you to apply.

Security Clearance

Due to the nature of our work, you must be a UK national for this clearance type.

You must be able to gain and maintain SC (Security Check) UK Government security clearance.

Our Benefits

• Flexible and hybrid working options, including a compressed fortnight with every other Friday off
• Private healthcare
• Cash health plan
• Holiday buy and sell options
• Performance‑related bonus
• Career development, training and mentoring opportunities

Why join Northrop Grumman UK?

A Mission to Believe In

Every day, our teams help build a more secure and connected world through technology that protects what matters most.

A Place to Belong and Thrive

We value diverse perspectives and believe that inclusive teams create better outcomes. Every voice matters here.

Your Career, Your Way

From early‑career development to future leadership opportunities, we support you to shape a career that grows with you.

Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce, and encourages individuals from all backgrounds and all abilities to apply and consider becoming a part of our diverse and inclusive workforce.